


Continuations

by SilverAmoebasquid



Series: STZ Week 2017 [7]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: AND IT TEARS HEARTS OUT, BUT IT IS REAL, Day 7: Graduation, GRADUATION REALLY HAPPENS, I BELIEVE IN THEM WITH ALL MY HEART AND SOUL, IM SO FOND OF THE STZ THIRD YEARS DONT LET THEM LEAVE MEEE, IVE BEEN IGNORING ITS EXISTENCE FOR MY WHOLE LIFE, PRECIOUS BABIES..., THAT BEING SAID I KNOW STZ'S FUTURE IS IN GOOD HANDS :), THIS PROMPT MADE ME ACKNOWLEDGE GRADUATION AS A THING THAT HAPPENS, [never stops sobbing], [starts sobbing], mostly mine, stz-week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-10 22:03:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10448547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverAmoebasquid/pseuds/SilverAmoebasquid
Summary: The third years are getting ready to leave the school at the end of the year, but they have some words of wisdom to pass down to their underclassmen first





	

Goshiki hesitantly knocked on the door, not sure if it would be heard, not sure if the door would open for him.

He didn’t know why he doubted. It always did.

“Ushijima-san!” he exclaimed at the tall figure who stepped away from the door to allow him access.

“Goshiki,” Ushijima nodded. “Would you like to come in?”

The first year nodded and slipped into the room. There were boxes everywhere, being loaded with all of Ushijima and Reon’s belongings as they prepared to vacate the dorm room they’d been sharing.

Goshiki stood by the door, unsure if he should start talking since his senpai was busy packing.

“What was it you needed, Goshiki?” Ushijima closed an empty drawer of his desk and placed his items in a box.

“I— um! I just! I just wanted a chance to talk to you before you leave!”

“Then talk.”

Goshiki blinked. It really was just as simple as asking the question, wasn’t it? “How do you command respect?”

The graduate looked up. “That’s a very deep question.”

Goshiki looked away nervously. “I was just thinking about it last night. After you leave, things aren’t going to be the same but I still want us to be a powerful team. I don’t know if I can do as good a job as you at being the ace.”

“Would you like to take a walk, Goshiki?”

“B-but you’re packing! It’s fine! It’s a dumb question anyway!”

“It’s not a dumb question. But it’s complex.” Ushijima left some clothing on his bed and approached Goshiki. “I have time. Let’s go somewhere. To the gym?”

The two walked in relative silence down to the volleyball gym where only a few scattered people were practicing casually.

Ushijima tossed a ball to Goshiki who began hitting it against the wall repeatedly.

By having an outlet for some of his nervous energy, Goshiki’s tongue loosened and he spoke more freely. “I don’t want to ride on our school’s reputation next year; I want to be my own kind of impressive. I know after losing to Karasuno this year, and now you leaving, people are going to lose faith in us. We’re not going to be unstoppable anymore. I want to be the reason people respect us again but I don’t know how to do that. I’m not like you. I don’t command respect when I step into a room.”

“But you’re the ace.”

Goshiki almost dropped the ball. “What?”

“You’re the ace now. You don’t have to be me to be the ace. If you hold yourself like an ace, the respect will come. If you score points like an ace, our reputation as a school will never have been tarnished. You have chances I don’t have anymore. Use them wisely. Don’t be someone people can ignore. Draw their attention. You’ve always been good at that.”

Now Goshiki did actually stop, tears prickling the corners of his eyes. “I don’t want you to leave. I don’t feel like we’re guaranteed victory without you.”

“We were never guaranteed victory with me. That was the trap I fell into. Remember that. Nothing is given. But act like it is. All eyes are on you. That’s just how you like it. Perform.”

Goshiki took a few shaky breaths, looking into his Senpai’s eyes and thinking a few moments before he opened his mouth again. “I think I know what I need to do! You can go back to packing, I need to practice a lot if I’m going to be ten times the ace you were!”

“Ten times...” Ushijima said under his breath, smiling slightly before leaving the gym again. If anyone could be ten times the ace he’d been, it would be Goshiki.

 

Kawanishi put his hands under his head and shuffled his feet under the sheets.

“Get off my bed, dude,” Semi smacked his leg. “I need to finish getting all my stuff together. We’re already almost late getting out of here.”

Kawanishi yawned. “You don’t need anything else from your bed. The sheets belong to the school.”

Semi rolled his eyes. “Okay, listen, there’s money under the mattress. Now get up.”

Tendou laughed at his roommate, haphazardly collecting his own belongings and throwing them into boxes without any organization. “Why would you have to put money under your bed, Eita!?”

“You know exactly why.” Semi glared. “You always steal my shit. This was the only thing that worked.”

Tendou shrugged. “I may have taken a dollar or two while you weren’t looking.”

“What!?”

“It wasn’t even noticeable! And it was only when I needed it for something really important!”

“What qualifies as important?”

“Your birthday present.”

“So basically I bought my own birthday present?”

“I’ll pay you back, stop freaking out!”

“Get out of my room, Satori.”

“It’s not your room anymore either, Semisemi!”

A quiet knock on the door cut Semi’s caustic reply short as he went to answer and stepped out into the hall, closing the door again behind him.

“Who’s out there?” Kawanishi didn’t bother opening his eyes, though he did rummage under Semi’s bed in search of money.

Tendou shrugged. “Who knows. Maybe we should lock him out one more time for good measure.”

“Maybe we can ransom all his money for access to the room to finish packing.”

“Good idea, Taichi! See, you’re going to do fine here without us. And you were worried, you silly!”

Kawanishi almost smiled. “Tendou, the lack of banter was never what I was worried about.”

Tendou jumped onto his own bed, looking across the gap to Lock eyes with Kawanishi. “Just volleyball?”

“Mostly. I mean, I’m worried about you being gone because that leaves me in charge of breaking up Shirabu and Goshiki when they fight, but mostly volleyball...”

“Aw, they’re not too hard to deal with. Just make them both go stand in opposite corners of the gym for a few minutes!! That’s all it takes!”

“Great. But what about our team. I don’t know how to guess block like you. You’re a much better player than me.”

“Taichi, I’m flattered! I don’t think you have anything to worry about though! I’ve never thought to worry about you!”

“How? You’re the one who stops spikes and crushes dreams of other schools. I’m just... backup or something, I don’t know...”

“Taichi, no! If you were backup, you’d be on the bench. There’s a reason you’re on the court with the rest of us! You have talent!”

“Yeah, but I’m not that good at using it. I get lucky every now and then. That’s all.”

“If you’re so worried then why don’t you do something about it?”

“What if it’s too little too late. Without a solid block—”

“You don’t have much of a choice!”

Kawanishi blinked.

“I’m leaving. There’s nothing you can do to change that so you can do whatever you want to do and I can’t help you.”

“I don’t want to be alone. I need you to be hard on me and make sure I stay focused.”

“Why can’t you do that yourself?”

Kawanishi shrugged.

“Just give it a try, okay? I think you’ll do what you need to. You always do.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Tendou grinned. “Say it’s a school project. You always procrastinate, but in the end, it always gets done and you always do well! Maybe you’re not great at self-discipline at first, but you’ll get better! And in the end, you’ll come through like you always do. I’m not leaving this team with uncertainty. You have great talent and with me out of the picture, I think it’ll shine through even more!! And you get to be vice captain so how cool is that!”

Kawanishi looked up at the ceiling. “Still scared.”

“You should be. You’ve got big shoes to fill. When I come back to watch matches, I want to see you blocking every single spike!”

“That’s a lofty goal.”

“But you’ll come through.”

“I guess...”

 

Semi knew exactly who had been quietly knocking on his door. He didn’t want to give Tendou a chance to bother the second-year so he jumped to answer immediately, stepping into the hall and closing the door quickly.

Shirabu was facing away from Semi, arms folded across his chest.

“What do you want?” Semi asked.

“If you’re going to be rude, nothing. You can go back to bugging Tendou if you’d rather.”

“Okay, sure.” Semi put his hand on the doorknob, not taking his eyes off the younger.

Shirabu turned slightly. “Wait...”

Semi smiled. “Yeah?”

Shirabu glared. “Can I... talk to you for a minute?”

Semi sat against the wall. “You’re not quite as annoying as Satori. You’ve got seven minutes. Go.”

Shirabu slid down the wall across from his senpai, keeping quiet for just a moment longer. “I’ve said a lot of things to you over the past two years and I want to apologize for the less polite of those things.”

Semi nodded curtly. “Apology accepted.”

“I’m realizing now, but... I think I took you for granted.”

A quick apology for the harsher times between the two, Semi had been expecting. Deeper revelations? Semi wasn’t exactly sure what his kouhai was trying to get into here.

Shirabu took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Semi noticed just how pale the younger setter looked. “Hey, you alright?”

“I feel like I’m going to throw up again...”

“Shirabu, what is going on?”

Shirabu opened his eyes again. “I’m scared. I’ve gotten so used to things the way they are right now. On the court, if we were in a tight spot, it wasn’t a problem because you were there. You and I would swap out for a few plays and your serves would take back whatever we might have lost and the team trusts your tosses. When I got stressed, it was okay because I could rely on you. What if things start going sideways out there and I don’t know how to achieve success by myself? What if—”

“You’re never by yourself,” Semi said quietly. “You have six other people out there with you. You don’t need to worry about being alone. Last year, yes, my tosses got us places too, but yours were the ones that scored points. And the next generation is used to you. Kawanishi and Goshiki and Shibata and Sagae and Akakura are all used to you. Yes, I have seen you guys practicing together since Spring High ended. I have seen you guys working at getting better. You guys are clearly going to be the starting members next year and you’re already cohesive. If I were to try tossing to them, it wouldn’t be the same. You know what you’re doing and they trust you. All you need to do is exactly what you’re already doing.”

“What if I have to change my tactic? I stuck to the shadows and let Ushijima have the spotlight. That’s how I wanted it to be. What if next year I can’t do that anymore. Goshiki’s going to be a good ace, but he’s not Ushijima.”

“And he never will be. Shirabu, you molded yourself to fit this team. You can do it again. You will be exactly what they need you to be.”

Shirabu smiled shakily. “What if I lose confidence and I need you to give me another pep talk like this?”

Semi smirked and stood up, offering Shirabu a hand. “Then call me. But I don’t think you’ll really need it. You’re the best setter I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.”

Shirabu pulled himself to his feet in silence.

“You’re not allowed to tell anyone that I think you’re okay, though. It’ll ruin my image.”

Shirabu watched as Semi stepped back toward his dorm room door.

“Semi.”

He turned again.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

 

When Kawanishi made it back to his own dorm, he found Shirabu laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

Kawanishi hopped back onto his own bed and glanced at his roommate. “Were you talking to Semi?”

“Mhm...”

“He give you any words of wisdom for next year?”

“Yeah...”

“Are you going to go talk to anyone else before they leave?”

“Dunno...”

“Fine, if you’re going to be sulky, I’m going to do homework.”

“Okay...”

Not thirty seconds later, there was a knock on the door.

Kawanishi glanced at Shirabu. Normally, he was the one to assertively stand to his feet and answer the door when someone was there, but he made no moves.

Kawanishi sighed and pulled himself to his feet to open the door.

Jin burst into the room, an expression of something between elation and pleading on his face.

“Taichi! I’m so glad you’re here! Everyone’s so busy today and call me a sap, but I had to come talk to you before I left!”

With that, Shirabu stood up quickly and headed for the door, muttering an “Excuse me,” as he exited.

Only distracted for a moment, Jin turned back toward Kawanishi. “I just wanted to say congratulations again on being the new vice-captain and also, if you have any questions or if anything ever comes up, you’re more than welcome to call me or anything! I don’t know what university is going to be like, but if I can possibly make time for you, I absolutely will.”

“Thank you,” Kawanishi said earnestly. “It’s an important role and I’m honored that you thought me worthy of it.”

Jin’s gaze turned calm and almost solemn. “It’s important for a vice to be able to balance out the captain. In my case, Ushijima and I worked out very well together. Where he was intense, I backed off. When he seemed not to have emotions, I made sure to care. You need to do the same and it’s really not as hard as you might think. After a bit, you start finding it coming more natural. You and Shirabu are quite different anyway, to be honest. He’s hot-headed and gets fired up so easily, but you keep your cool in tough situations. Remind the team not to panic and remind him not to panic.”

Kawanishi nodded. “Thank you, Soekawa-san. I’m not sure how I feel about the first years looking up to me like that, but it’s not a matter I really have a choice in.”

“What do you mean?”

“This year’s first years and next year’s new students need someone charismatic to be their role model: someone who’s completely invested in volleyball. I don’t want to influence them to be lazy like I am. I suppose I need to work on that myself, but—”

“Don’t change too much,” Jin reassured. “Like I said, Shirabu can be a little intense. When he wants to keep working after official practice is over, people are going to be tired. Some of them are going to be discouraged. You need to remind them that it’s okay to say no and that it’s okay to call it a night and take a nice shower and go to bed early. There’s nothing wrong with that and you can show them that path to follow.”

“So what you’re saying is that I’m allowed to be less intense.”

Jin smiled wide. “That’s exactly it. I can tell you’re stressed. There’s a lot of pressure on you, but that’s okay. You don’t need to be everything you think you should be. Just be you.”

Kawanishi took a deep breath. “I think I understand... Thank you.”

The third year grinned. “Good. I have to go finish getting myself out of here, but I wish you the best of luck!”

“Good luck to you too. I think you’ll do well in the real world.”

“You think? I sure hope so.”

 

Shirabu sprinted through the hallways, blinking back tears. He’d already checked the third year dorm floor. While the hall was a bustle of students all moving their possessions outside, when Shirabu rapped urgently on the familiar door, he found it unlocked and the room vacant.

“Please still be here,  _ please _ still be here,” he muttered under his breath as he flew down flights of stairs to the busy entrance of the school.

At last, he spotted the volleyball club jacket and the broad shoulders and the strong, straight posture he was looking for.

“Ushijima-san!”

The ex-captain stopped and looked over his shoulder.

Shirabu froze on the steps out of the school, staring into the calm brown eyes.

The spiker set down the large bag in his hand and took a step back toward the school.

“D-do you have a second, please, sir!” Shirabu shut his eyes, standing as tall and rigid as he could.

A warm hand rested on his shoulder and he relaxed, blinking at the ace standing beside him.

“I’m glad you found a chance to come talk to me,” Ushijima said. “I was hoping to get the chance one more time.”

Shirabu nodded. “I have things I need to say. And questions I want answered.”

Ushijima tilted his head. “I may not have all of them, but I will do my best. Did you want to go somewhere quieter?”

Shirabu glanced around the graduated third years filtering out of the school building around them. “Yes, please. I don’t care where.”

“All of my possessions are already moved out. Would you like to take a walk?”

Shirabu nodded again and hopped after his senpai, quickly realizing that a walk with Ushijima meant a light jog for him.

“Are you excited to be done with high school?” Shirabu started casually.

“I am,” Ushijima responded calmly. “I look forward to pursuing my interests and playing for my university’s volleyball team.”

“You should be. It’s a great school. I’m... I’m considering going there next year... How would you feel about that?”

“To play volleyball?”

“I want to toss for you again.”

“Kenjirou...”

Shirabu felt the tears return to his eyes.

“You’re a great setter. You don’t need me around to prove that.”

“But I love being your setter. For the last three years, tossing to the best ace in the world has been my dream. I understand that you have to leave but... I don’t know who I am if I’m not trying to reach the top for you.”

Ushijima looked down at the second-year. “Then I wish you had not devoted yourself so fully to me.”

Shirabu felt something inside him shatter and he stopped walking.

Ushijima got two large paces away before stopping and turning back around. “You must learn how to be independent. This team will need an able setter who will commit his full self to the well-being of the group. You have every ability to be what this team needs if you commit yourself to them and not to me.”

“I’m not good at change, though. I want what we have right now to last forever.”

“Nothing lasts forever. You know this.”

Shirabu turned to hide the tears sliding down his face. “I do. That doesn’t mean I have to like it, though.”

Ushijima smiled slightly. “You’re perfectly adaptable. You will do fine with the new team.”

“I know. I still don’t want this to end.”

“There are no endings. Only continuations. Make this a good one. I trust you to captain this team and take them back to nationals.”

“I... I’ll make you proud.”

“Good. You’re ready.”


End file.
